Ingredients

• Granola
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup crispy brown rice cereal
• 1/2 cup slightly crumbled corn, bran or oat flakes
• 1/2 cup crispy flax cereal (or 1/4 cup flax seeds)
• 1 cup unsalted cashew pieces (or pecans, walnuts, or other nut you prefer)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon


• Flavoring
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (Grade A Dark Amber is best)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil (other oil may be used, but coconut is recommended)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 250° F.

Place all granola ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine all Flavoring ingredients and heat on low-medium until coconut oil has melted and all ingredients have blended (about 1 minute). (Note: If you are using a liquefied oil such as olive oil or canola oil, you can skip this heating step, and simply mix the ingredients in a mixing bowl before adding to granola ingredients.) Remove from stove and stir in vanilla extract.

Pour Flavoring mixture over Granola mixture and stir to combine. Pour entire mixture onto a large baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray and evenly spread out. Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes, removing pan and stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove pan from oven and set on a cooling rack. Using a spatula, spoon or rubber spatula, push any outer loose scattered pieces of granola in to touch the main bulk of the granola (this will allow granola to cool into chunks that you can break into desired sizes). Cool completely (granola becomes crispy after it cools). Gently break large pieces of granola into desired chunk sizes, then transfer to an airtight container.